Yesterday I went to lunch at Chili's with a wonderful friend of mine. Actually, I should say, I was treated to lunch yesterday by a wonderful friend of mine. Thanks Linda!
Nevertheless, when I looked around inside the restaurant it was a ghost town. Usually that place is hopping. When I spoke with the Hostess she told me they had just laid off 6 Servers because things were so slow.
She also said that if it wasn't for the College kids they don't know what they'd do. Looks like Mom and Dad continue to foot the bill while their kids eating out regularly. I know I'd be telling my kid to buy a loaf of bread and some Bologna or peanut butter & jelly. If he wants to eat, GET A JOB!
Nevertheless, things are getting a whole lot worse out there Folks. Deny it all you want or even try to claim the restaurant businesses aren't hurting, (like I've seen a lot of comments saying so on this Blog) you're wrong!
Chili's food can be pretty decent when properly prepared... but for sure Applebee's, BK North (i love BK, just north has been garbage for 10 years needs to be shut down), Saladworks, Bay Country Meals, Zia's, Salsarita's, could all close on the north end and I wouldn't miss them. Saladworks and Bay Country were so bad the first and only time I went I refuse to go back. (i've been keeping an eye on friends carryouts and know food has not improved). Zia's has nasty kitchen and nasty owners. Salsarita's is food poisoning waiting to happen with the food sitting out at room temperature like that, plus the chicken is green/gray, I'd love some nice white meat chicken tacos, but their "chicken" is inedible.
ReplyDeleteThere are probably another good 15 restaurants in Salisbury that could/should close. Salisbury is the armpit of cuisine, I don't know why people keep sponsoring these horrible restaurants!
Another example of how the spoiled college kids are keeping this town afloat.
ReplyDeleteso College kids are all dependent on their parents, you would be hard pressed to find a resturant intown that is not staffed by them. they work too.
ReplyDeletechilis is terrible food. Salisbury had way too many chain restaraunts. the economy is just fighting back.
ReplyDeleteThe post is about the economy. It is about the affect of the economy on restaurants.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a good topic to discuss. You won't hear this discussion in MSM, so let's have the discussion. We need to educate ourselves. We also need to learn how to have intelligent discussions - don't we? What is wrong with intelligent discussions?
Does anyone have an opinion about the affect of the economy on restaurant business in salisbury?
Or, do you just want to bash the businesses you do not like? Whether or not you like a certain hamburger is not very interesting. Do you folks think the business is being negatively affected by the economy?
Just wandering - as is Joe.
Thanks
I think the high cost of food in the grocery store will keep people in the restaurants. Personally I think cooking at home is more than fixing a plate of food, I cook everyday and while Im doing it I spend quality time with my youngest daughter and her friens. They like to learn and it keeps them from running around getting into trouble. Theres a lot more to gain from home-cooking then just food. I charish everyone of these moments spent with my daughter.
ReplyDeleteWe eat out less now. It's one of the practical things to cut back on. When we do go out for a meal it is someplace where we really like the food and at a restaurant that is locally owned (Vinney's and Market StreeT are favorites). In some small cities local restaurtants are taking turns closing one day of the week on a rotating basis to cut down on expenses and to share what business is still out there.
ReplyDeleteSalisbury actually has one of the highest per capita number of restaurant seats in the country....look for many to close if the economy stays this weak.The maryland Restaurant Association is predicting a failure rate of over 20% in the next 12 months.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet more are still being built...Dairy Queen, Sonic, Checkers...possible Cracker Barrel.
I have fun in the kitchen at home. It is one place I know my wife won't chase me down to bother me in [insert rimshot here}. Seriously, around my house we say our prayers AFTER we eat. I also hide stuff in the vacuum cleaner bag. God knows she never looks there either. Thank you-you've been a wonderful audience. ;)
ReplyDeleteIts typical of Salisbury to patronize a new restaurant or eatery until the novelty wears off. Wait and see what happens to Famous Daves in the months to come when Sonic hits town .Of course some places could clean up their act just a little which might help restore customers.Ever look a Chick Fillet during lunch time ? Whats their secret ? Oh, by the way Anon 8:48 I LIKE APPLEBEES !!!
ReplyDeleteChick Fillet and Back Street Inn are two of my favorite restaurants. I think it is much cheaper to eat at home if you purchase your food items at Sam's Club and sale things at the other local grocery stores. I like the comment made by another blogger about closing for one day a week on a rotating schedule. I feel sorry for the people that some restaurants have to lay off. If the economy keeps on spiraling down, I guess my wife and I will return to eating hamburger helper and day-old bread. We ate cheap 45 years ago when we got married and can do it again in order to survive.
ReplyDeleteNot all college kids are supported by mommy and daddy. Some of us have to work for our food and rent.
ReplyDeleteif we work, let us spend it as we see fit.
ReplyDeletechili's has some of the most fattening food around, so it may be a good sign that people aren't eating there.
ReplyDelete2 Jars store bought "Barilla" type sauce
ReplyDelete1 Large can store brand tomato paste
1 pound ground chuck
1 Box DeCecco Rigatoni/shaped pasta of choice
1 small container mixed peppers/tomato/mushroom/onion from grocery salad bar {as needed}
1 loaf pre-prepared, fozen garlic bread
1 gallon ice tea/bottle of chianti
TOTAL COST TO FEED FAMILY OF UP TO FOUR: Approximately $20-25. {rotate as needed with fajita/chicken/"breakfast at night" recipe nights}.
{I could give you the secret cooking instructions-but then I would have to kill you...}
11:31, 45 Years, A TIP of the hat to you and the wife.
ReplyDeleteAnother symtom of a deepening recession. For those of you that think the stimulus/spending bill was not needed, have a slice of humble pie. To not try is not an option.
ReplyDeleteReese a real man makes his sauce. Take all that store bought can stuff and donate it, Chef boy-r-reese.
ReplyDeleteI'm not quite sure why you're complaining about college students helping the economy in this town. Your logic is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteanonymous 12:56, who are you directing your question at/to?
ReplyDeleteSalisbury has the fewest "rich brats" of any college I've visited. They are there, but no where near enough to stereotype a few thousand kids.
ReplyDeleteAnd you all can badmouth the college/college students all you want, but this place would be worse off than Bmore without it.
12:19. Abbondanza if you have the time and the money {I thought the point of this post was to help hard-working families to save money with quick, practical recipes during these tough times when both parents usually work; not re-enact the wedding scene from "The Godfather"}. I'll take the Top Chef challenge with you any day. I guess you are also going to tell me you graze the organic cattle in your backyard for the ground chuck and grow your rosemary hydroponically, too. But, Grasshopper, can you also duplicate the gravy recipe after a hard day hiking the Gettysburg/Antietam battlefield or Skyline Drive trails by cooking over a simple wood/charcoal fire or one burner portable camp stove in a high-altitude environment in complete darkness?? Afterwards, I can also play "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" and "Layla" on acoustic guitar when the batteries on the boom box die..and I make really good smores. I thought you guys were supposed to be hard-core militia men/survivalists....drop and give me twenty!
ReplyDeleteI was directing it towards your comment about us college students being spoiled because we go out to eat on occasion. You heard it with your own ears... without us the Salisbury businesses would go down the tank. So whether or not we are spoiled; we're helping the community out. And most students are putting themselves through school and have jobs. (I personally have 2)
ReplyDeleteReese you never stop making me laugh, to many tabs in late sixties I quess.
ReplyDeleteI agree-if I am scrimping and saving to put my child thtough college she better be waiting tables at Chilis-not eating there every night-especially if Mom & Dad are paying her rent,tuition,cell phone bills and car insurance!
ReplyDeleteI agree these chain resturants are boring and stale-they open their cute dining room with oars and gas cans hanging on the walls and then we are supposed to salivate at the prospect of waiting in the lobby two hours for what amounts to reheated Sysco food.Yum.
I will go to Vinnies or one of the other indies in Salisbury.
Chili's food never thrilled me. I much prefer Applebee's or anywhere over it and based on the number of times I go out to eat, other businesses are still being patronized. Of course it would be ignorant to say businesses aren't hurting but they are offering value menu's and such to keep people frequenting their restaurants. At the same time, I would argue that business is still booming. Check out Denny's, Market Street, Applebee's, IHOP, all of these places are keeping the customers coming in the door despite the poor economy. Sure, it'll probably get worse but we're still not that bad off where people are completely cutting it out of their budget.
ReplyDeleteIt just bothers me Joe that you take a story that has a good point to be made and then you throw in a broad and typically wrong statement attacking a group or someone which totally debases your entire post, i.e. bum college students who according to the hostess is the only thing keeping the business afloat. Why attack something that you just told us is supporting the business?
Oh, and I'm one of those spoiled college students(who has a job, pays for tuition & books plus gas and everything else I need, and is a Salisbury native).
1:50. You should see the midnight magic I can create {also on a single burner stove/wood campfire/hibachi-san} with a pound of havarti, loaf of bread, and a couple stix of pure lots of fat and salt butter, while bumper-to-bumper traffic thins out, after an Allman Brothers concert...{btw Simon Cowell is the "true enemy"}...
ReplyDeleteWe usually eat out once a week.
ReplyDeleteWe are not really noticing any slowdown at the restaurants we go to.
There are still wait times at some of them and others seem just as busy as they always have.
Therefore, I can't say I agree that the economy is hurting Salisbury and surrounding area restaurants that bad.
I believe there is probably more to the equation than just the economy.
I think if Chilis wants more business they can take a page from Outback Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse-let's face it most of the chains incld Applebee's have the same menue- and get involved either with community fundraising like the steak places or offer a kids' night. I've never heard of anything they offer and with 4 kids, it's easier to eat out if they do this kind of stuff. Of course my family has cut back from once or twice a month out to maybe once every couple of months. The last place we ate was Golden Corral, two weeks ago Sunday, and the place is not bad but we had a gift card we didn't want to go waste. If you want our business, you need to be fundraising for some poor kid like Brooke Mulford, so we feel we're helping a cause or offering a discount for kids (the young ones pick at their plates).
ReplyDeleteAs for cooking at home or camping out, I don't care if it's canned or fresh...I make the most of what we've got and try to keep it to only one pot. Reese Bobby has got the right idea. Once we took frozen shrimp, fresh corn and melons and added some local steamed crabs, had a regular feast at our campsite. The only thing you need to make it a better night is to take the DEET spray to keep the bugs away. Good times:)
3:49. One of the best investments {at a really small price} I ever made was putting a small tv right in my kitchen-I can cook for a couple hours and still catch up on news/fun stuff after work. And buying the stand-alone freezer I keep in my garage to hold bulk chicken breast/frozen veggies/salmon/beef when it goes on sale allows me to buy at places like Sam's in bulk. The additional quality time you get with your family, and "that home-cookin' smell" you get throughout your entire home after the meal is absolutely priceless. And daddy keeps what would have been the tip {sorry SU guys; charity starts at home} for a second bottle of chianti when everyone is finlly asleep....Cheers, mates.
ReplyDeleteSage Diner has great food and great prices.
ReplyDeletePeople here in Salisbury should be supporting the locally owned restaurants & keep the money in the county. How about going to Market Street, SOBOS, Zias, all that are locally owned and operated.
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect, some of those places charge you $10 for a burger. $3 for the side of non-included beach fries. Then $4-8 a pop for drinks. Plus tip. Do this math and compare it with my Sunday gravy recipe. The bottom line is doing the talking these days. Adapt or not; 'tis your choice...like the car manufacturers.
ReplyDeleteCamp cooked food is always the best. Don't know if it's the twin bottles of merlot I carry, or my mates that swap tales 'till the embers fade. Hiked the Canyon 3 years ago, savored a powdered stew (with the Condors!) and a baggie of Pinot Noir, sun setting to the west, black clouds and lightning at my brow. Best food I had for weeks.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should try some of these places again. I went to Sobos yesterday and they have a $5.00 lunch special from 2 to 4 everyday. That beats McD's, Chilis anyday.
ReplyDelete2:00-4:00 lunch special, huh? Pin a rose on you; I haven't seen such an electric bargain since the 1:00-1:15 window of opportunity for us caddies to use the Bushwood pool. C'mon...
ReplyDeleteWe eat IN, I can count on ONE hand the number of times our family has eaten out, over the last 3 years, okay, that doesn't count the McD's dollar menu, often when hubby is most ill the one thing I can get him to eat is McD's..'regular hamburger'...I don't know what it is, but he will eat that. $2 and change, and I drive home with it. He's from the 60's what can I say, but normally everything is prepared at home. It's cheaper and better. When hubby is sick, his tastebuds are warped, it's either that or the Ensure.
ReplyDelete(I really think it's those sour, crappy onions on the burgers that does it for him.)
vinnies? vinnies? Are you kidding me? The last time I was in there bathrooms were overflowing, that was just disgusting. That place needs somer serious rehab.
ReplyDeleteIm not quite sure why you must assume that any college kid eating out is supported my mom and dad. I, like many of my friends, work full time, pay for college by myself with out my parents help, along with mapying my own rent and bills. It is really unfair of the people who were born and raised here in Salisbury to blame all of this towns problems on the students at Salisbury University. And its not just this comment about "mommy and daddy paying". It is also about how we are treated around town by many people. I know that there are a few bab apples out there who mess things up, break the law, and are little brats whose parents pay for everything and anything, but in reality, those are the minority. And it is sad that many peoplein this town lump us all together.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping this blog was better than those kind of comments.
Chelsea,
ReplyDeleteGive me a break. 95% or more stuidents have the parents paying their way. While I'm proud of you for doing it on your own, I can assure you you're getting some help from our Governemt in one way, shape or form. Nevertheless, my statement in the article actualy came from one of the Managers working there.
I'll close with this. You have NO commitment to Salisbury, other than abusing what we taxpayers provide and offer you in your short stay here throughout life. If you don't like how your treated, go somewhere else. There are more than just a few bad apples. If you want to correct those bad apples from within, then you'd be showing maturity and not crybaby crap like I just read. There, now you can blame me and the Blog.
Joe- I think you must have forgotten all the charity work we college students do in this town. Our organizations give back so much to the Salisbury community. We ARE doing what we can to make Salisbury a better and safer community. There are some bad apples at the university, and karma will get them in the end. But can you really say that there aren't bad apples in the community too?
ReplyDeleteNews flash. Those bad apples in the community prey on college students. But it's a lot easier to bust a party than to arrest the people who mug us, break into our apartments, and sell drugs on the street we live on.
With all due respect to you individually,is it possible,just a teensy bit,that the reason local "non-student" people are selling drugs in your neighborhood because college students are buying them?That maybe these local crooks KNOW what to steal when they break in because they have been inside these residences and seen what there is of value because they were there,at parties,selling drugs to college students? Is it possible not all students are clean-living and community minded like yourself?
ReplyDeletei'll agree that some college students might be buying drugs from them. but i personlly know a lot of people who have been approached and mugged on the streets. the thing is- the bad apples in the community know where we live and target us... and probably about 90% of the time its not bc we're buying from them. of all the people i know who have been mugged or broken into... not one buys drugs.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that a lot of teens/twenty-somethings work as servers, but lots of restaurants in this area could use some adult supervision! Salsaritas and TCBY are the worst. On a number of occasions, I have seen both places over run by teens hanging out while their friends worked, driving PAYING customers away. Twice I have been at Salsaritas where they had to admit there wasn't anyone on the premises old enough to sell the beer they offer(i.e. 18 or over!). At TCBY, the manager is present to open and close, and the kids are left to play the rest of the day. That is why these business are struggling.
ReplyDelete